Cry For The Bad Man - Release & Reactions

(Stream or Purchase Cry For The Bad Man here)

Well, our feature film Cry For The Bad Man was released in the US & Canada on May 5th. Camille and I have been doing press for the last several weeks to help promote the film, so I'm just getting the chance to read some reviews and reactions. 

First of all, I have to take a small victory lap. We grabbed some press from Rue Morgue, Bloody Disgusting, Dread Central, and JoBlo. For a genre buff, it's pretty cool to see our little film featured on those sites.  

As for the reactions, they've been an even mix of good and bad. Of course the good reviews are exciting -- flattering even. I thought I might have more of a reaction to less-than-stellar reviews, but to my own surprise, I find myself nodding in agreement with some of that criticism too. 

While it doesn't inspire the kind of love/hate polarization of 'I Spit' (nor was it intended to), it does seem to divide certain viewers and critics on one, bizarre gripe: The bad guys aren't very smart. 

This is the only criticism worth a response. 

The short response... No shit.

The long version... you missed the point.

A concession, our film is stupid-simple - a home invasion with the DNA of western siege film. Does it seem familiar? It should. We didn't set out to reinvent the wheel or perplex the viewer with some dizzying, Inception-like plot contrivance. We were guided by the old filmmaking aphorism, "Don't let the plot get in the way of the story." In other words, there's not much to "get."

The ONLY thing one should "get" is that our bad guys are incompetent. This is an intentional subversion of a trope that has become so stale and overused in the suspense/horror genre. I'm referring to the impossibly-prepared, borderline-omnipotent bad guy who is capable of out-witting and out-thinking the authorities and our protagonist in all but the final 10 minutes of any given script. How does a John Doe or Jigsaw see 10 steps ahead? Well, because the screenwriter NEEDS him to see ahead. 

When I spoke to those actors early on, I gave specific character references as to their levels of, well, dumb. Derrek (Eric Dooley) was basically Glenn Frey's spirit animal from his guest appearance on Miami Vice. Billy (Christopher James Forrest) was a militia caricature I'd seen in a Vice documentary about the so-called "Three-percenters" or "Oath-keepers" (I find it extra-funny this character is wounded first). Deputy Pyle was an homage to the useless cops in Last House On The Left. Wayne (Scott Peeler) was about the only character with any real menace. 

Cry For The Bad Man (as the title alludes) is about over-confidence as weakness when there's no competence to back it up. This is also known as the Dunning-Kruger effect (relatively low competence to relatively high confidence). Our bad guys are pretty sure they're tough-as-nails. Likewise, the audience will believe they are tough as they say when coupled with the history of these movies and their impossibly (cartoonishly) -tough villains. 

Criticism tends to split on one scene: Early in the film, the antagonists are seen gambling as they count down the hours towards inevitable conflict. Here, they are confronted by their father who calls them on their tough guy posturing, "You been bluffing your whole god damn life... everyone backs down."

Those who single-out this interaction inevitably pen more a favorable review, noting the character development for what would otherwise be one-dimensional villains. Those who don't, go on to question the trio's idiotic choices during the siege. 

Yes, these guys are dumb. That's the point. The wounds they suffer are avoidable and any one of those injuries would send a reasonably-intelligent person running, but these are not reasonably-intelligent people. These are proud, stubborn rubes, poisoned by their own pride and made increasingly-reckless with every lost volley. In other words, they're a lot like a lot of people here in the south.

Hope that clarifies and maybe it's a failing of mine as a writer if that wasn't clear in the film. 

Beyond that, if the dialogue did/didn't click, if the pacing/runtime didn't satisfy, if the practical effects were/weren't up to snuff, or if the story was/wasn't compelling, those are matters of taste and I accept any and all criticism there. 

I also accept that my tastes in film aren't exactly in alignment with a lot of my horror-loving peers, so my cinematic offerings are going to clash with modern sensibilities. 

I'm just glad we've reached even this relatively low bar of success where people are interested enough to watch and review the film. I have to express sincere gratitude for even being in this position to consider these contrasting opinions. It's been an overwhelmingly positive experience. 

Now it'll be interesting to gauge the international response. The film is headed to Germany (as Night of The Woman), Japan (as Ms. Punisher), and Benelux. I'm curious to see how the American south translates overseas. 

To everyone who has watched the film, a sincere thank you for your time and consideration. 

Sam Farmer

- writer/director

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